70天攻克考研英语阅读 DAY16

2006-7-28 01:04

Increasing reading speed

Directions： Do the word recognition drills below. Note the words on the left then underline them every time they appear in the same form to the right. No regression， no vocalization. Try to finish in 15 seconds or less.

Starting Time：

1. spaceshipspacecraft spacetime spacewave spaceship spaceman

2. conquest conscript contract connect conquest constitute

3. universe university universe universal unusual unhorse

4. however whatever whenever wherever however whichever

5. adventure advantage advent advance adventure advertise

6. survival survive survivor surviable survival surviving

7. resource resort resolve resource resourceful source

8. harmful hopeful harmfully harmless harmful harmfulness

9. radiation radiant radiate radiation radiative radiator

Finishing Time： Total Reading Time：

Errors： Check each line carefully for mistakes.

Our Future in Space： It Has Already Begun！We are all space travelers. But weve stayed close to home until now. One day， we may leave our "mothership" Earth to make our home among the stars.

A giant， spherical "spaceship，" about 8，000 miles in diameter， is speeding through the solar system right now. It is cruising at an incredible 66，600 miles per hour.

Its not a giant， Star Wars mothership. Its spaceship Earth， the home of over four billion people. This watercoated spaceship has been traveling through the universe for about five billion years. Only within the past 25 years， however， have some of its passengers broken free of Earths gravity.

But 25 years from now， many people， including you， might live in an orbiting space station 200 miles above the Earth.

Space CitiesScientists have already designed special space factories. These factories will take advantage of the absence of gravity （zero gravity） to produce everything from lifesaving drugs to perfect ball bearings.

Other scientists have designed space colonies， complete with farms， schools， and artificial day and night. Hundreds， or even thousands， of people will live， work， play - even go to school， far above the Earth.

Our conquest of space， of course， has already begun. We have explored part of the Moon， sent robot spaceships onto the surface of Venus and Mars， and aimed space probes past the planets of Jupiter and Saturn.

Last June， one robot ship， Pioneer 10， left our solar system forever. And astronauts from both the Soviet Union and the United States have lived in space stations.

The conquest of space， without question， is one of the greatest adventures human beings have ever set out on. But it may be more than a great adventure. Some scientists think the conquest of space may be a necessity for survival of the human species.

We are tearing up more and more of the Earth to get raw materials for industry. And we are polluting the air and water as we manufacture products that we need or want. Almost everything that seems to make our lives more comfortable， from electricity to pesticides， uses up or alters a piece of our planets natural environment.

Why Go into Space？Yet our solar system is full of resources. The moon is chockfull of valuable metals. So are the asteroids， the small， rocky， planetlike bodies orbiting the sun - most of them between Mars and Jupiter. These metals - if we can get them - could be used to build factories and space stations.

Also， in space， there is no atmosphere to filter out the suns energy. There is plenty of solar energy to be turned into electricity for manufacturing - for creating comfortable living conditions.

Getting away from Earth has other advantages， too. Modern industry uses many kinds of metal alloys （mixtures of metals that are better for certain purposes than pure metals）。 Yet some metal alloys either cant be made or are very expensive to make on Earth because of gravity. For instance， certain metals dont mix well on Earth. But in zero gravity， molten （hot， liquid） metals mix more evenly. This is because there is no gravity to pull the heavier metals down， while the lighter ones float on top.

From space， too， we can look down on the Earth and study the atmosphere， its weather， and the effects of air pollution.

And because there is no strong gravity to break free from， our future homes away from Earth will be convenient starting points for travel to distant planets.

But， while going into space might solve some problems， outer space can also be a dangerous place. For example， in outer space， we have to protect ourselves from the dangers of ultraviolet light and cosmic rays. Ultraviolet light from the sun can give us bad sunburns right here on Earth. Yet， Earths atmosphere screens out most of that harmful radiation. Cosmic rays are tiny highenergy particles from outer space. Again， the Earth shields us from most of them.

At Home in Space？But in space， without special protection， we would be exposed to much stronger radiation from ultraviolet light and cosmic rays. Also， in the zero gravity of outer space， our bones will lose calcium and become weaker. This will be more of a problem the longer people stay out in space. Doctors are looking for a way to keep our bones from losing calcium in outer space.

Yet， these risks wont keep people from going into space. Eventually， an Earth-like environment will be built in space. And they will be populated by people with many different interests： medicine， construction， farming， teaching， mining， and so on.

The next hundred years will be filled with other worldly adventures， exciting scientific discoveries， and danger， as humans leave Earth - perhaps forever.

——from Science World， Sept 2， 1983

Time： 799 words ＝ wpm

Minutes

EXERCISESⅠ。 READING COMPREHENSION

Select the answer which is most accurate according to the information given in the passage.

1. The giant， spherical spaceship mentioned in the passage is virtually .

A. the one equipped with many hightech electronic devices

B. an imaginary object in the exciting cartoon series， "Star Wars"

C. the spacecraft designed for the star wars initiatives

D. the planet Earth

2. According to the author， some persons have within the past 25 years.

A. reduced the influence of the Earths gravity to a minimum degree

B. left the Earth and traveled into outer space

C. freed themselves of the Earths gravity by floating up in the air in hotair balloons

D. created a gravityfree environment right here on Earth

3. Scientists have already designed special space factories， which .

A. are built in outer space

B. manufacture special products and tools for space use， such as medicine and perfect ball bearings

C. create surroundings free of gravity

D. make such gravity-proof products as life-saving drugs and perfect ball bearings

4. From the sentence， "Some scientists think the conquest of space may be a necessity for the survival of the human species， "（paragraph 9） we can infer that .

A. if the Earth becomes too crowded or no longer suitable for men to dwell on someday， theyll have to move into space

B. if World War III breaks out someday， man will have to escape from the Earth

C. if human beings want to live longer than expected， theyll have to go into space for much purer air and water

D. if human beings want to survive the futures harsh winter and scorching summer， theyll have to go into space

5. Nearly all industrial things that seem to facilitate our lives .

A. take up all pieces of land and change them into factories

B. occupy the natural environment fully and modify it to fit with industrial production

C. exhaust the natural resources on our planet and worsen its environment

D. use all pieces of land efficiently and improve the Earths environment

6. The moon and the asteroids are alike .

A. considering the fact that they both lie between Mars and Jupiter

B. with respect to their rich， valuable metals

C. with regard to their distances from the sun

D. with regard to their brightness

7. Why cant some metal alloys be made on Earth？

A. They are very expensive to make here.

B. Some metals used in the alloymaking industry can only be found in space.

C. The temperature on Earth can hardly be kept constant.

D. The heavier metals fail to mix well together with the lighter ones.

8. Which is true according to the information of the passage？

A. Ultraviolet light from the sun can give us bad sunburns right here on Earth， but it wont do any harm to people who are in space.

B. Ultraviolet light in space scorches our skin as seriously as it does on Earth.

C. Ultraviolet light in space places us under much stronger radiation for there is no atmosphere to filter out the harmful radiation.

D. None of the above.

9. According to the author， what kind of problem will be caused to a man in gravityfree space？

A. The loss of calcium.B. The loss of weight.

C. The loss of strength. D. The rise in blood pressure.

Ⅱ。 CONTEXTUAL REFERENCE

Guess the meaning of the following words in italics using reading techniques.

1. Therefore there cannot be life on the Sun or any of the stars because they are far too hot. Living molecules are also damaged by Xrays， and many of them by ultraviolet rays， so they are not likely to exist on a planet close to the Sun or other stars where there is no atmosphere to filter out this radiation.

2. We had to start at exactly the same time， so we had our watches synchronized.

3. When the stone is whirling around your head， the string keeps pulling the stone inward so that it travels in a circle rather than in a straight line. This force keeping the stone moving in a circle is called the centripetal force.

4. The space shuttle is our principal space transportation system； it will remain our principal space transportation system for the foreseeable future.

5. Also totally dependent on the shuttle is the space station， which is to be assembled in orbit by astronauts with parts brought from earth by the shuttle.

6. The station is designed to establish a permanent human presence in space. Men and women ferried to the station by shuttle， and working aboard it for three months at a time are to carry out scientific and medical experiments and dabble in the space manufacture of drugs， crystals and alloys that might be best produced under conditions of weightlessness.

Ⅲ。 CLOZE

Complete the following passage by filling in the blanks with appropriate words.

Aging in Space

Suppose a space traveler is moving at a velocity of 186，200 miles per second. For every hour 1 passes for him， 30 hours pass 2 Earth. If he 3 for a year in this fashion （having accelerated instantaneously） and then 4 around and comes back 5 this speed （having turned around instantaneously）， he will 6 that while he has seemed 7 himself to 8 traveled two years， the men on 9 would claim he had been 10 for 30 years.

Suppose the space 11 had left at the 12 of 30， leaving 13 a twin brother also 14 30. When he 15 he would be 32， 16 his stayathome 17 brother 18 be 60. That is why the "clock paradox"（时钟佯谬）， is sometimes called the "twin paradox"（孪生兄弟佯谬）。

Of course it takes quite a long 19 to accelerate to a high 20 ， and a long while to make a turn and head back again， so conditions arent quite as clearcut as just described.